More Awesome Science! (videos and resources)

Time for some more awesome science -

With some student friendly, ready to use teaching materials to match!

Time Lapse Erosion

Two amazing looks at erosion - aided by time lapse! Above,

Collaroy-Narrabeen Beach (Sydney, Australia) in June 2007. During 3 days,

almost 300 000 cubic meters of sand was removed from the beach.

Below, the erosion of a soccer ball over time.

Both work well with one of my freebie resources:

FREE Rock Cycle Simulation Lab 

 

The Egg in the Bottle

Whoa! The fire consumes the oxygen - around 21% of the air inside the bottle.

This leaves relatively low pressure inside the bottle (as compared to

the relatively high pressure outside the bottle). This higher pressure outside

air pushes the egg in!

This demo is a great match with

my Air Pressure Lab Pack or Percent Oxygen Lab!

The Ultimate Zoom-In Shot

 One of my (and student) favorites! 
A simulated zoom from the outskirts of the universe to the inside of an atom!
This is great for looking at relative sizes, and can easily be paired with my  
Cells vs. Atoms Worksheet.




The Blubber Glove

I have a friend who participated in a pain study at the National Institutes of Health.

She had to keep her hand in ice water as long as she could stand it - too bad

she didn't have blubber! Blubber is an incredible insulator, allowing very little heat to

transfer from the hand to the water!

This demo makes for some great lessons when paired with my Conduction Lab, 

Heat Notes Pages, Heat Transfer Practice Worksheet,and FREE Heat MiniQuiz.

Or get them all (and more) with the Heat Transfer Teacher Pack!

Planning for Learning: A How-To

Middle school teachers have a special job.

I've discussed some of this in earlier posts. We have to wade through all of the middle school stuff and somehow facilitate 30 twelve year-olds in learning a new and specific concept or idea every day. In my 12 years teaching and observing (formally and informally) middle school teachers, here are four things I've learned.



1. Start with an OBJECTIVE!

I can't stress this one enough. While I like to allow for differences in style, objective-based planning is the only way to plan. You start with an objective - a measurable learning outcome that students need to know or be able to do by the end of the class. For newer teachers, this changes what can sometimes feel like the need to fill time into the need to have students learn within a limited time. 

Let's take as an example:

Students will be able to describe motion of particles in three phases of matter.

   -Specific? Yes.

   -Kid friendly? Yup.

   -Measureable? Sure.

Ok, we're ready to get to work.

2. Plan for Mastery
Now, the challenge is set. You, the teacher, have 45 (or 47, 50, 60, etc.) minutes to have every student meet your objective. In our example, this means you have 45 minutes for your students to learn and demonstrate a mastery of particle motion in three phases of matter. 

How in the world will you do it? If you're asking yourself this question, you're off to a great start. You've successfully changed your focus from filling time to using time. Answering this question is the reason you get a paycheck - this is your job. You are an expert in getting kids to learn. Not only that, but you need to continue to get better at it.

This step involves...

• Planning Activities
• Preparing Materials
• Preplanning Questions (yes, preplanning) 
  
  
  and synthesizing everything into a smooth, focused lesson!

This is not to say that you need to do it alone! Hopefully, you have a strong, collaborative staff to help you. Discussing lessons with peers, asking others for feedback, and reflection (alone and in groups) are powerful tools that will foster improved teaching and learning.



3. Frame the Learning
The importance of framing is never better demonstrated than when seen from the student perspective. (Newer teachers, I urge you to seek out peers who excel at this and watch them in action)! This is an extremely powerful learning tool. Framing of learning involves explicitly communicating to students what they need to know or be able to do by the end of class.
In addition, it may involve...
-Explaining how you're going to help them get there. 
-Activating prior knowledge.
-Asking a question to help students begin to explore the topic.

In our example, this could be as simple as saying, "Please take a look at your objective. Today, by the end of class, you need to be able to describe how particles move in three different phases of matter. Are there any questions of what is expected of you by the end of class today?"

To me, this is so important that I use anywhere from 1-5 of my 45 minutes covering it each day. It may not sound like much, but 5 minutes is 11% of the time students have in class.
It's worth it - every day.



4. Summarize the Learning
Ok, you've set an objective, framed learning for students, and planned and implemented a lesson for mastery. 
DO NOT let the lesson simply end with the bell - end the lesson purposefully by summarizing the learning with which students should be walking away!

Like framing, the power and importance of a good summary is most easily visible from the student perspective. Opening and closing the learning both work to focus students on the objective, and are well worth the time they require.

_______________________________________

This blog post is by no means  meant to be comprehensive. The art of teaching takes years to develop, but I am a strong believer in the four ideas presented above. After observing them in action and consistently utilizing them myself, I feel safe telling you that they  

improve student learning.

Middle School FREEBIES Linky Party!

 

How about some FREE Middle School products!

Add your link below, and scroll through and find your favorite freebies to download! 
(These should be links directly to free products).

Geeks vs. Nerds: A Guide

Hello, geeks and nerds!

(You clicked to get here, didn't you)!?

I figured this would be fitting - for both science and middle school. I'm pretty sure I'm closer to geek than nerd, but that's just me. Thanks to MastersInIt.org for sharing!

Enjoy!

From: MastersInIt.org

Seven Years.

"Would anyone like more time on the quiz?"

Silence.
"Ok. Please circle the first letter of your first name and pass up your quiz."
"Why do you always make us circle the first letter of our first name?"
"To make sure there's a name."

Seven years.

That little gem took me seven years to figure out.

Once in a while, just to keep things fresh, I'll switch to the second letter. Or the last letter. When I'm feeling really zany, I'll switch the circle to a box. Or even an underline.
That's right - an underline. 

Watch out, kids. Today's a crazy day.

Now, every class has asked me (multiple times) why I have them do that. I always give the same response, word for word: 

"To make sure there's a name."

The class then gives me the sterotypical, "Oooooooohhhhhhh."
Then one student raises his or her hand, and in a concerned voice says, "I accidentally circled the second letter. Is that ok?"

I love middle school.

 Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Correct Horse Battery Staple (awesome science websites)

My brother showed this one to me. Awesome.

It's from

 xkcd.com 

A very cool (and addictive) math/science web-comic.

I especially like the What If section, self described as "Answering Your Hypothetical Questions With Physics, Every Tuesday." 
Disclaimer: I've browsed the site, but can't vouch for 100% kid-friendliness.

Planet-Science.com

Cool and amazing videos, experiments, and a special section for parents and teachers!

HowStuffWorks.com

Ok, so you may have heard of this one, but I had to include it.

It's too awesome not to.Wonder how anything (real or imagined) works?

You can probably find out here.

 

Popular Science Image Galleries 

Some of the most amazing pictures on the web. 

For a longer chain of cool images, check out their Year's Most Amazing Scientific Images.

The Best of YouTube Science!

(Or at least some of my favorites).

The Melting Gallium Spoon

The gallium spoon appears as any normal spoon would - until dipped in warm tap water!

Gallium, a metal with a melting point of 85.59° F (29.77° C), is a consistent student favorite!

 

 

 

Elephant Toothpaste

 What do you get when you mix hydrogen peroxide, sodium (or potassium) iodide, and  liquid soap? Well, not elephant toothpaste. But it sure looks like it. 

Potassium Chlorate and Gummy Bear

A science poem:

Guess what gummy bears hate. 

Yup - potassium chlorate.

Sodium in Water

Sodium - Making water more fun for millions of years!

Sodium acts to lose an electron, creating hydrogen gas (and heat!) when mixed with water.

Dr. Quantum and the Double Slit Experiment

An engaging, entertaining, and understandable explanation of the double slit experiment - One of the most unbelievable and unexplainable experiments ever performed!